What AFCON means for Premier League players (and the big January Chelsea v Liverpool game)
Adam Leventhal Oct 21, 2021
The Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) takes place in January and February, bringing us drama, high-quality football and the inevitable sound of managers moaning about absent players.
How many games will Premier League players miss if selected for the tournament? It might be more than you’d expected.
It’s likely that a group of approximately 40 players will leave soon after the final whistle blows on Boxing Day and some players may not fly back until the second week of February. By which time up to eight games (six Premier League and two FA Cup) could have been missed, depending on how well their nations do.
FIFA rules state “players must be released and start travel to their representative team no later than Monday morning the week preceding the week when the relevant final competition starts.” The Confederation of African Football (CAF) says they are following this guidance. “The process and relationship (between clubs, FAs and players) is governed by this,” a CAF spokesperson told The Athletic. Hosts Cameroon kick off the tournament against Burkina Faso on Sunday, January 9, meaning Monday December 27 — 13 days previous — is, by that rationale, the date players will be required to leave their clubs.
Discussions between clubs and national FAs are likely to centre on an interpretation of the rules. The vast majority of nations (20 of the 24) start their tournament between January 10-12th (into the next week) and therefore it could be argued that Monday January 3 is also a reasonable date to report. If, and that’s a big if, that was agreed, then Premier League clubs would be able to select their players for two further games. It means, for example, Chelsea versus Liverpool — the current top two — would feature Mohamed Salah (Egypt), Sadio Mane and Edouard Mendy (Senegal), Naby Keita (Guinea) and Hakim Ziyech (Morocco). “Clubs and associations concerned may agree a longer period of release or different arrangements,” is the caveat in the FIFA rules that clubs may lean on.
The Athletic sought guidance on the issue from all 20 Premier League clubs and the overwhelming majority said that the logistics around release dates are still being discussed. One leading Premier League club that would be impacted said: “It’s still very much up in the air.”
Nigeria, who are set to draw the highest number of Premier League players (possibly as many as seven), have told The Athletic that they plan to convene their players on the earlier date (December 27) before travelling onwards to Cameroon. It highlights an expectation from a leading African nation that FIFA rules will be followed. “It will be very difficult to make any exceptions,” said a source at the Nigeria Football Federation. “One of the things we’ve thrived upon is treating everyone the same.” Squad harmony is a consideration that will be at the forefront of many nations’ minds.
One Premier League club who are set to lose multiple players to AFCON call-ups told The Athletic that special dispensation for a January 3 release is only likely to be given if it applies across the board — to all clubs and nations — for the integrity of the competition. It is only Premier League players who would require special treatment among Europe’s top five leagues (Spain, Italy, Germany and France) as elsewhere players won’t be needed for matches from at least December 27 because of winter breaks.
Initially, AFCON 2021 was due to have taken place at the same time as the delayed Euro 2020 this summer, but a combination of COVID-19 and climate concerns pushed it back. England, for example, were able to meet up two weeks prior to the latest European Championship because it was during the off-season. African nations will be entitled to argue that, even though it’s not ideal for clubs, they should be afforded the same preparation time without a battle.
While Manchester City will be able to absorb the loss of Riyad Mahrez (Algeria, the current holders) due to their deep squad, Liverpool will clearly be determined to keep Salah and Mane for as long as possible and Chelsea won’t want to miss Mendy for any longer than they have to either. But across the board, clubs will be fearing the impact of losing players for an extended period at a key time of the season.
If December 27 remains the cut-off, Watford will lose their most influential player Ismaila Sarr for matches against West Ham and Tottenham (both at home) in addition to Newcastle (A) and Norwich (H). If his nation Senegal, who haven’t finalised their plans as yet, get all the way to the final as they did in 2019, he may also miss the reverse fixture against West Ham on February 8. FIFA rules stipulate that when travelling back from a different continent they have 48 hours to return to their clubs after the tournament ends, rather than 24 hours. The final is on February 6. Quarantine measures will also need to be taken into consideration.
It would be a similar story for West Ham if an additional two games or more were missed by Said Benrahma (Algeria), Crystal Palace with Wilfred Zaha (Ivory Coast), Leicester with Kelechi Iheanacho and Wilfred Ndidi (both Nigeria) and Daniel Amartey (Ghana) or Arsenal with Thomas Partey (Ghana), Nicolas Pepe (Ivory Coast), Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang (Gabon) and Mohamed Elneny (Egypt). With two FA Cup games either side of a new planned international window over the weekend of January 29, the number of key games has already been reduced but fans will be keeping an eye on the tournament for two reasons.
Salah will hope to win AFCON with Egypt (Photo: Peter Byrne/PA Images via Getty Images)
Yes, to see how their players are performing but also when they might return. If teams were to make an exit at the group stage (which ends of January 18th-20th) there is a chance players could make it back for Premier League fixtures over the weekend of January 22. The next exit points for teams are January 23-26 (after the round of 16), January 29 and 30 (after quarter-finals), February 2 and 3 (after semi-finals) before the third-fourth play-off and final on February 6. It’s not a problem that Newcastle, Tottenham, Leeds and Norwich need to worry about as they don’t have any AFCON players in their squads.
There is another angle to success or failure for players and their nations at the tournament too. If stars are out of the country it will be far more difficult to lose them during the January transfer window. Although they may miss a few matches, they are more than likely to return for the final third of the season.
Final details of release dates for players are likely to become clearer after the next round of international fixtures in November. Nations have a final deadline of 10 days prior to the tournament to confirm their squads. Between now and then, politics and diplomacy will take centre stage to ensure clubs and countries get what they want. It may be that they meet in the middle.
Adam Leventhal Oct 21, 2021
The Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) takes place in January and February, bringing us drama, high-quality football and the inevitable sound of managers moaning about absent players.
How many games will Premier League players miss if selected for the tournament? It might be more than you’d expected.
It’s likely that a group of approximately 40 players will leave soon after the final whistle blows on Boxing Day and some players may not fly back until the second week of February. By which time up to eight games (six Premier League and two FA Cup) could have been missed, depending on how well their nations do.
FIFA rules state “players must be released and start travel to their representative team no later than Monday morning the week preceding the week when the relevant final competition starts.” The Confederation of African Football (CAF) says they are following this guidance. “The process and relationship (between clubs, FAs and players) is governed by this,” a CAF spokesperson told The Athletic. Hosts Cameroon kick off the tournament against Burkina Faso on Sunday, January 9, meaning Monday December 27 — 13 days previous — is, by that rationale, the date players will be required to leave their clubs.
Discussions between clubs and national FAs are likely to centre on an interpretation of the rules. The vast majority of nations (20 of the 24) start their tournament between January 10-12th (into the next week) and therefore it could be argued that Monday January 3 is also a reasonable date to report. If, and that’s a big if, that was agreed, then Premier League clubs would be able to select their players for two further games. It means, for example, Chelsea versus Liverpool — the current top two — would feature Mohamed Salah (Egypt), Sadio Mane and Edouard Mendy (Senegal), Naby Keita (Guinea) and Hakim Ziyech (Morocco). “Clubs and associations concerned may agree a longer period of release or different arrangements,” is the caveat in the FIFA rules that clubs may lean on.
The Athletic sought guidance on the issue from all 20 Premier League clubs and the overwhelming majority said that the logistics around release dates are still being discussed. One leading Premier League club that would be impacted said: “It’s still very much up in the air.”
Nigeria, who are set to draw the highest number of Premier League players (possibly as many as seven), have told The Athletic that they plan to convene their players on the earlier date (December 27) before travelling onwards to Cameroon. It highlights an expectation from a leading African nation that FIFA rules will be followed. “It will be very difficult to make any exceptions,” said a source at the Nigeria Football Federation. “One of the things we’ve thrived upon is treating everyone the same.” Squad harmony is a consideration that will be at the forefront of many nations’ minds.
One Premier League club who are set to lose multiple players to AFCON call-ups told The Athletic that special dispensation for a January 3 release is only likely to be given if it applies across the board — to all clubs and nations — for the integrity of the competition. It is only Premier League players who would require special treatment among Europe’s top five leagues (Spain, Italy, Germany and France) as elsewhere players won’t be needed for matches from at least December 27 because of winter breaks.
Initially, AFCON 2021 was due to have taken place at the same time as the delayed Euro 2020 this summer, but a combination of COVID-19 and climate concerns pushed it back. England, for example, were able to meet up two weeks prior to the latest European Championship because it was during the off-season. African nations will be entitled to argue that, even though it’s not ideal for clubs, they should be afforded the same preparation time without a battle.
While Manchester City will be able to absorb the loss of Riyad Mahrez (Algeria, the current holders) due to their deep squad, Liverpool will clearly be determined to keep Salah and Mane for as long as possible and Chelsea won’t want to miss Mendy for any longer than they have to either. But across the board, clubs will be fearing the impact of losing players for an extended period at a key time of the season.
If December 27 remains the cut-off, Watford will lose their most influential player Ismaila Sarr for matches against West Ham and Tottenham (both at home) in addition to Newcastle (A) and Norwich (H). If his nation Senegal, who haven’t finalised their plans as yet, get all the way to the final as they did in 2019, he may also miss the reverse fixture against West Ham on February 8. FIFA rules stipulate that when travelling back from a different continent they have 48 hours to return to their clubs after the tournament ends, rather than 24 hours. The final is on February 6. Quarantine measures will also need to be taken into consideration.
It would be a similar story for West Ham if an additional two games or more were missed by Said Benrahma (Algeria), Crystal Palace with Wilfred Zaha (Ivory Coast), Leicester with Kelechi Iheanacho and Wilfred Ndidi (both Nigeria) and Daniel Amartey (Ghana) or Arsenal with Thomas Partey (Ghana), Nicolas Pepe (Ivory Coast), Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang (Gabon) and Mohamed Elneny (Egypt). With two FA Cup games either side of a new planned international window over the weekend of January 29, the number of key games has already been reduced but fans will be keeping an eye on the tournament for two reasons.
Salah will hope to win AFCON with Egypt (Photo: Peter Byrne/PA Images via Getty Images)
Yes, to see how their players are performing but also when they might return. If teams were to make an exit at the group stage (which ends of January 18th-20th) there is a chance players could make it back for Premier League fixtures over the weekend of January 22. The next exit points for teams are January 23-26 (after the round of 16), January 29 and 30 (after quarter-finals), February 2 and 3 (after semi-finals) before the third-fourth play-off and final on February 6. It’s not a problem that Newcastle, Tottenham, Leeds and Norwich need to worry about as they don’t have any AFCON players in their squads.
There is another angle to success or failure for players and their nations at the tournament too. If stars are out of the country it will be far more difficult to lose them during the January transfer window. Although they may miss a few matches, they are more than likely to return for the final third of the season.
Final details of release dates for players are likely to become clearer after the next round of international fixtures in November. Nations have a final deadline of 10 days prior to the tournament to confirm their squads. Between now and then, politics and diplomacy will take centre stage to ensure clubs and countries get what they want. It may be that they meet in the middle.
